Thanks for fact checking me, I should have done my homework first.

I still think that the 9.15% stat supports my claim though. I hang out with mostly non-engineers so its a bit comical to be shamed by hacker newsians for proposing that we get paid enough. Most studies on the matter have demonstrated that any income over 75k has no correlation on happiness, so for me I guess I feel more concerned about finding meaningful work than a higher salary.

On another note, I am not sure why all of these people claiming to providing value equal to 10x their salary don't simply work for themselves and see if they can really rake in that much without the support of their company.

I understand where they're coming from. Pay, of course, is a function of supply and demand. Nothing more, nothing less. The greater the demand, relative to the supply, the higher the price. We're constantly told that developers in high demand and that companies cannot find anyone to hire, to the point that the government has even pushed 'learn to code' programs to try and bring more people into this 'future industry', so price should be rising rapidly to close that gap... but it's not happening for the most part.

So we have this disparity where the market is not reflecting what the media (et. al.) are reporting. I can see how that is leading to much confusion for those in the industry.

In 2014, the median income for software developer, applications was $103,054.85[1] (in 2017 dollars). Today, the median income for software developer, applications is $102,212.06[2] (again, in 2017 dollars). Developer incomes are on the decline.

It appears that we're reached equilibrium. If the industry was honest and said "go away, the industry is full" people would have less belief that they're worth more, but that's not the message we continue to hear.

[1] https://www.bls.gov/oes/2014/may/oes151132.htm

[2] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/...